“Why can’t happily ever after be simple? I think all those stories with a happy ending are bullshit. The sequels would reveal the real scoop on what happens after the characters got what they think they always wanted.” ~~ Carol Maloney Scott (Book: The Juggling Act)

As it turns out I have had the third installment in the ‘Rom-Com on the Edge’ series on my Kindle. And it continues Claire’s story from where we left it (maybe) in ‘There Are No Men‘.

The moment I found that out I started reading ‘The Juggling Act’ as I did enjoy ‘There Are No Men’.

Let’s see how ‘The Juggling Act’ turns out….

Genre: Chick-Lit, Romantic Comedy.

Main Characters: Claire; Brandon.

‘The Juggling Act by Carol Maloney Scott’ ~~ Synopsis:

All Claire wanted after her divorce was to get married. And she has finally got her wish.

She’s a married and has a son, Aidan, who she loves a lot. Even if she sometimes fears his mother would come to get him sometime in the future.

She’s also happy that she no longer has to go on dates with weird guys she used to select from the Internet dating sites.

But happy days as a married woman, it seems, were numbered and are over. Or maybe her marriage is once again on the verge of being over?

As a married woman, Claire has a new set of problems and list is quite long: 😀

1. A lazy young, handsome husband, Brandon. He seems to know & attract more single women than Claire is comfortable with.

2. A sexy tenant, who seems bent on seducing Brandon. But he refuses to believe Claire’s theory.

3. To add more stress to the already boiling situation, Claire decides to help her ex and hires his sexy sister-in-law, who’s also trying to seduce Brandon.

4. Then they are considering adopting another child, or rather Brandon wants to. Claire is not sure she wants to add to the stress and chaos. Despite adopting one child, she’s still not comfortable with the idea of open adoption.

To add more tension to their already tension filled relationship; her company decides to send her to attend a publishing conference with none other than Justine. Someone who used to have a crush on Claire or maybe still does.

Without worrying much about her life, she decides to just leave for a week and see if she & Brandon could discuss their differences after the unexpected break.

The news that Claire’s leaving on a business trip with Justine leaves Brandon angry, jealous and worried. He’s aware of Justine’s feelings for Claire and doesn’t want her to make any foolish decisions just because they are having some issues.

But what can he do other than wait for the week to finish. In the meantime, ward off advances from his hot neighbor and nanny until Claire comes back.

He doesn’t know how to handle the situation with the two women, without making Claire more suspicious or angry with him.

Not only has he made light of two women hitting on him, there are also a couple of other things he’s hiding from Claire.

Like Aidan’s mother wanting to meet him; his new book is loosely based on their real life and Claire’s attitude towards open adoption; his rock band getting some recognition and then exploring the options to tour and about adopting another child as soon as possible etc.

He’s waiting for the right time, but lately they are fighting more and more and talking less. And to add to his worries, Claire is out of the town with her Justine.

Claire’s having more fun than she’d imagined on the business trip, but she’s sure she’d not cheat.

Review:

‘The Juggling Act’ is told from multiple POVs and I liked it. I got a little confused while reading Claire’s mother’s POV. Since the mother daughter shares the same first name, it’s confusing. 😀

Not that the author hasn’t made it clear whose POV you’re reading, I think I missed a word. But Claire’s mother’s arrival on the scene is hilarious.

After reading the blurb I was expecting this one to be a bit serious. It’s not, at least, I didn’t find it serious much.

“People are very complex. No matter how alike you are, you will always have some conflict in an intimate relationship that spans decades.” ~~ Carol Maloney Scott (Book: The Juggling Act)